WWC Announces Changes

Kaiser Daily provides a summary of this Article.

The deteriorating state of the economy will force Whitman-Walker Clinic to close or outsource some programs and lay off up to 45 employees by the end of the first quarter of 2009. A combination of declining revenues and an increase in new patients coming to the clinic for uncompensated health care led Whitman-Walker to take action. Many new patients lost their jobs and no longer have either the income or the health coverage to pay for care they need. Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia will close by the end of the first quarter of 2009. All patients have the option to transition to the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center or Max Robinson Center. The Bridge Back program, a residential addictions treatment program, will also close by the end of the first quarter of 2009. Current patients whose course of treatment will end on or before Feb. 28 will be allowed to complete the program before it's closed. Other patients will be transitioned to other treatment programs in the community. While up to 20 administrative positions will be eliminated, some additional positions to generate revenue or to improve efficiency of operations will be created. The clinic expanded their grant requests to include more health care areas such as primary care and chronic disease management.

Washington Post Examines History of Whitman Walker Clinic

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined the history of Whitman Walker Clinic, which recently sold its property for $8 million to "beat back mounting debt," the Post reports, adding that the organization will continue to operate in a new, smaller space two blocks from the old location. The clinic currently serves about 10,000 clients, 3,400 of whom are living with HIV. According to the Post, the sale of the clinic's property "was just another real estate deal among many," and the move is a "kind of requiem" for the people who have been involved with the clinic.

Whitman-Walker purchased its former property in 1986 for $1.25 million. Jim Graham -- a lawyer who was Whitman-Walker's executive director for 14 years and currently is a district council member -- made the purchase to "launch a full scale defense for AIDS patients: medical, dental, psychological and legal services," the Post reports. Graham said, "You took great satisfaction in doing what you could do, but you knew the suffering was horrific. It affected everything you did." The Post reports that the clinic "desperately needed money" to provide services to people living with the virus, and "when other institutions wanted nothing to do with AIDS" then-Mayor Marion Barry and the Meyer Foundation were the earliest financial supporters of the clinic, in addition to the gay community, which covered almost half of the operating costs through donations.

According to the Post, the clinic had a staff of 34 with 700 volunteers by 1987 and was able to hire a full-time lawyer and open a food bank. The clinic in 1987 "could not provide the most elusive antidote: medicine to stop or cure the virus"; however, that same year treatment and prevention of pneumocystis pneumonia -- which is often fatal in people living with AIDS -- was found in aerosol pentamidine and Bactrim tablets, and the first FDA-approved antiretroviral drug -- zidovudine, also known as AZT -- was made available to people living with the virus.

According to the Post, the clinic began to apply for grant money totaling $3 million in 1991. About 10 years into the epidemic, the clinic had treated 2,600 clients, of which 1,600 had died. The Post reports that education about AIDS "had calmed some of the paranoia, but not all," and that "race was a tricky complication." Barbara Chin, a clinic staff member, said, "The white boys had gotten to the point where they said, 'I'm gay and to hell with you.' African-Americans were afraid that someone would label them HIV. This was their home town."

The Post reports that in the early 1990s, many of the clinic's clients were entering into clinical research trials in an attempt to increase their life expectancies. Patricia Hawkins, a psychologist and social worker with the clinic since 1984, said the participants "are the unsung heroes of the epidemic. It was all about the people who would come later. And they were right." By 1994, the clinic had purchased additional property and expanded its operations, and the clinic "that used to represent death adjusted to caring for people living long-term with HIV," according to the Post.

However, the clinic recently has experienced financial difficulties as the issue of HIV has become "more of a poverty issue," the Post reports. The clinic's staff has been reduced from 252 to 173 employees, with additional restructuring expected. Hawkins said that data scheduled to be released soon will show that HIV prevalence in the district is increasing. "I wake up every day fearing that a new, faster, more virulent form of this virus will hit us," Hawkins said.

-From Kaiser Daily Health Update

Read the article

Whitman-Walker World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil

Whitman-Walker Clinic will observe World AIDS Day with a new location for its annual candlelight vigil at Bethlehem Baptist Church at 2458 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE, beginning at 5:30 pm on Monday, Dec. 1. Family and Medical Counseling Services will join Whitman-Walker as a partner in this year’s vigil.

“Anacostia is an epicenter for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District of Columbia with HIV rates that rival sub-Saharan Africa,” said Donald Blanchon, chief executive officer of Whitman-Walker Clinic. “We hope that holding the vigil there will draw attention to the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Anacostia and inspire members of the community to get involved in the fight against the disease. We encourage the entire community to join us on Dec. 1 to honor those we have lost to this epidemic, to remember those who continue to live with the disease, and to commit to bring about a future free of HIV/AIDS.”

For information on additional World AIDS Day Events in DC, click here

AIDS Walk Washington: October 4th, 2008

AIDS Walk Washington, benefitting Whitman Walker Clinic, will take place on October 4th, 2008. Olympic champion Greg Louganis will serve as Grand Marshall of the walk. You can register for the walk online at: www.aidswalkwashington.org.

View and share pictures from AIDS Walk Washington on The Flickr AIDS Walk Washington Group.

Increase in New HIV Infections at Whitman-Walker

NBC4 reports on new HIV infections at Whitman-Walker Clinic:

"There have been 266 new HIV diagnoses in the first half of 2008, a 232 percent from the number of cases in the first half of 2007, according to the clinic. One-third of the newly diagnosed patients have full-blown AIDS, the clinic said. The new infections were found primarily in two groups, gay men and African-Americans, according to the clinic."

WWC Seeks Focus Group Participants for Next Week

Project R.E.D., Whitman Walker Clinic's new community education and outreach program for HIV prevention, is looking for volunteers to participate in focus groups on Monday July 21st and Tuesday July 22nd. They have four target groups for this campaign and are looking for focus group participants from these groups:

* 18 – 24 year old gay men
* Single gay men of color
* 24 – 35 year old heterosexual African-American women
* Heterosexual African-American men under the age of 40

The purpose of these focus groups is to talk with people in these target groups to determine what messaging would be most effective as well as determine what vehicle would be best for delivering that message. So, there will be questions about attitudes toward sexual behavior, what things people respond more to; and what type of imagery or wording would get's people's attention or resonates with them, etc. This is completely confidential and participants will be compensated for their time.

If you know of some people who are potential participants, please call Karen Solod during the day at 301-441-4660 or call Kathie at the same number in the evenings during the week or anytime over the weekend and say Whitman-Walker Clinic sent you. If there are any questions, indicate it is for the RT Strategies Focus Groups.

Tuesday November 20th: Transgender Day of Remembrance

A local event marking the Transgender Day of Remembrance will take place Tuesday November 20th, at the Whitman Walker Clinic's 1407 S Street NW site from 6 to 7:30 PM. The event is co-sponsored by Whitman-Walker Clinic, and Transgender Health Empowerment.

Metro Weekly has an excellent article up about the Transgender Day of Remembrance. To read it, click here.

Red Hot Night: A Benefit for Whitman Walker Clinic

Join Kimpton's seven Washington DC hotels and over 150 supporters of the Whitman-Walker Clinic for a "Red Hot Night" in the nation's capital on Thursday November 29th from 6:00 to 8:30 at Urbana Restaurant & Wine Bar at the Hotel Palomar (2121 P Street NW, Washington, DC)

Mix and mingle with fellow supporters while enjoying delicious hors d'ouevres by Urbana's new Executive Chef Claudio Urciuoli, red-themed cocktails, and fabulous silent auction items including weekend getaways with airfare to Kimpton's luxury lifestyle hotels across the country. All proceeds from admission fees, specialty martinis and silent auction items will go directly to Whitman-Walker Clinic.

2007 AIDS Walk Washington: Tell Your Story

Share your story from AIDS Walk 2007. Here's how:

Flickr If you have a flicr account, it's easy to add your AIDS Walk Washington photos to our AIDS Walk Washington Flickr Group. It's free and easy to set up a flickr account, but if you prefer you can just e-mail me your flickr pics and I'll post them to the group for you.

YouTube You can also send me your videos, and I'll add them to our Fight HIV in DC You Tube Page

BloggerIf you'd like, you could also send me a blog post about AIDS Walk DC and I'll post it on the site

Volunteer Opportunities: HIPS, Whitman Walker, Cherry Fund

Here are some great volunteer opportunities ahead.

HIPS Volunteer Opportunities
HIPS is seeking dedicated individuals to provide programmatic and administrative support to our Outreach, Hotline and In-House programs. Volunteers are needed both for daytime (M-F 10 – 6pm) and evening (10pm – 5 am) positions! Volunteers gain real-life experience in HIV prevention services, crisis counseling, health counseling and more. Volunteers are asked to make a minimum 8 hour a month, 4 month commitment to one of HIPS programs. Internships are also available. Interested applicants should email HIPS volunteer coordinator Keisha (volunteercoordinator.hips at gmail.com) for more information and volunteer application! The Fall Volunteer Orientation starts Sunday September 30th. Details at www.hips.org

WWC Legal Services: Become a Public Benefits Volunteer
Looking for a volunteer opportunity to help people living with HIV/AIDS in our community. Become a Public Benefits Volunteer and help people living with HIV/AIDS and other clients of Whitman-Walker Clinic with their initial Social Security disability applications. Join the Whitman-Walker Clinic Legal Services Program for the Public Benefits Clinic Volunteer Training on Saturday October 20th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Whitman-Walker Clinic, 1407 S Street NW. For details, click here.

Cherry Fund Seeks Volunteers for Harlequin
On Saturday, February 23, 2008. The Cherry Fund will continue our tradition of giving back by hosting Harlequin, our masquerade ball at the Latham Hotel. The proceeds of this event will go to the HIV/AIDS Youth Service Community. There are many opportunities to volunteer and help make this event a success. For more information, click here.

Art for Life Thursday November 15th

Art for Life, the 14th Annual Art Auction to benefit Whitman Walker Clinic’s services for the Latino community, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007 at the Organization of American States, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. The reception begins at 6:30 PM, the VIP Reception begins at 6:00 pm.

For more information, click here.

AIDS Walk Washington October 6th

Check out this great public service announcement for AIDS Walk Washington coming up on October 6th. If you haven't already made plans to walk, you're welcome to join the DC Fights Back Team. And of course, if you're not walking yourself, I'd greatly appreciate it if you make a donation now on my AIDS Walk Washington Page.

Special kudos also goes to the folks at My Positive Connection. Kester and his crew from My Positive Connection are sponsoring twenty walkers this year! My Positive Connection is a cool local DC site where HIV positive folks in DC (both gay and straight) can come together to chat, meet, or date.

AIDS Walk Washington Essay Contest Deadline Approaches

As part of this year’s AIDS Walk, the Whitman-Walker Clinic is organizing an essay contest for local high school students.
Students are encouraged to write an essay that answers the question “What can you do to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in your community?"

The top ten finalists will be recognized at AIDS Walk Washington, which takes place on October 6th. One grand prize winner will have the opportunity read their essay at the event, and have their work featured on the AIDS Walk Washington website.
All essay submissions must be received by Friday September 14th. Find out more at www.aidwalkwashington.org.

BBSSU Bike Ride & Picnic This Saturday

Brother to Brother Sister to Sister United (BBSSU) will hold their fifth annual 100K bike ride to benefit WWC's Max Robinson Center this Saturday, Aug. 18. The roundtrip ride from College Park to Baltimore will start at 8:00 am and will be followed by a picnic.

Registration will be open on Saturday. For more information or to register, click here, or check out the BBSSU website at www.bbsu.org.

The Men of MACS

Last April marked the twenty-fourth year of the Multi-AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), a prospective study of gay and bisexual men that has been going on almost as long as the epidemic itself. From 1984 through 1985, 4954 men were enrolled in the study. MACS has added participants over the years for a total of 6,973 men. This includes HIV positive men and a comparison group of HIV negative men.

The MACS study takes place in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, and Baltimore.

About 180 active participants are right here in DC at the Whitman-Walker Clinic site, a sub-site of Baltimore.

Joe Izzo, a staff-member of Whitman-Walker, is one of the participants. Joe participates in the study as a way to help others: “being HIV negative for all of these years I feel grateful and I felt I needed to give back to the community in some way.”

There are other benefits, however, “It’s also a wonderful way to get a complete physical every six months; it’s a great way to monitor your health whether you’re positive or negative.”

These men come in faithfully every six months for a follow up visit where they have a medical examination and provide information about their medical history. Dr. Michael Plankey commented on the remarkable dedication of these participants: “We have about 50 MACS volunteers in DC that have never missed a single appointment in 24 years.”

The data collected from these men has contributed to many areas of HIV research. MACS researchers have written over 1,000 scientific manuscripts on topics including virology, sexual behavior, substance use, hpv, hepatitis, and quality of life to name a few.

The MACS study is funded through the National Institutes of Health. MACS Researchers expect to re-apply for funding to continue the study in the next year.

Dr. Plankey points to three areas where MACS data could be particularly useful in the future if the study is continued: HIV and Aging, HIV and Cardiovascular Disease, and HIV and Neural and Cognitive Function.

A community advisory board, made up of trial participants from both Baltimore and Washington, meets about once a month and provides input on the MACS research agenda.

To find out more about the MACS Study in DC contact Max Menna.

To find out more about the MACS Study in General, visit: www.statepi.jhsph.edu/macs

Share your AIDS Walk Washington Photos on Flickr

I've set up a new Flickr Photo stream where you can share photos from the Washington AIDS Walk To see the pictures visit: www.flickr.com/groups/aidswalkwashington. Special thanks to flickr user Matt Sapiano who was the first person to add his AIDS Walk photos to the group.

If you're a flickr member adding your photos to this group is easy. If not, you can also e-mail me your pics and I'll add them in for you.

I hope that by the time the AIDS Walk happens this year, we will have a great online collection of hundreds of photos from all the past walks.

Synthetic Division Fundraiser for Whitman-Walker

The synthpop duo Synthetic Division will be performing on May, 24 2007 at The Rock and Roll Hotel in a benefit performance for the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

That red-haired member of Synthetic Division pictured on the left is none other than Shawn Decker, who many of you may also know as a contributing writer to Poz Magazine, and frequent Poz Blogger.

Doors open at 8:00 PM. The Rock and Roll Hotel is located at 1353 H Street, NE. For more information, click here.

AIDS Walk Washington: Registration Now Open!

The DC AIDS Walk may still be several months away, but planning is well underway. Online registration one the website opened today so be sure to visit the site, and sign up.

I'll be walking this year with the HIV Vaccine Research Team, which will include volunteers and staff from the Vaccine Research Center, the Capital Area Vaccine Effort, and the US Military HIV Research Program.

Whitman-Walker Clinic has made significant changes to the 21st annual AIDS Walk Washington, including adding a poster contest for seventh and eighth graders, an essay contest for high school students, and a 5K timed run.

The recruitment goal for 2007 will be 25,000 walkers - one for each person living with HIV in D.C.

Find out more and sign up at: www.aidswalkwashington.org.

Thank You Whitman-Walker Clinic

Earlier this week I went to the Whitman-Walker Clinic Gay Men's Health and Wellness Clinic to support a friend who was getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV. (He said I could blog about him, but I won't use his name. In addition to HIV tests, the clinic offers rapid syphilis screening along with screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

As it turns out my friend did have an STD. He was able to get a shot right there on the spot, and was given some medication which fit discreetly in the pocket of his jeans. He was also able to talk things through with someone who was really listening.

I think just about all of us know someone who puts themselves at risk for HIV. It completely sucks. To be honest, I can't help but feel a little bit like a a failure as a friend.

But at a moment like this I'm so grateful that the clinic exists, and that the staff and volunteers are so very helpful, non-judgemental, and supportive.

Kudos to Donald Blanchon

You have to respect a guy who is willing to make a difficult, even unpopular decision if he believes it's the right thing to do. Such is the case this week with Donald Blanchon, Executive Director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic. This week he announced that the clinic is cutting ties with the AIDS Marathon Training Program.

Judging by the comments on The DCist, it's not a popular decision, but it is the right thing to do.

Whitman-Walker has made a historic commitment to reduce or end their participation in any event that has a disproportionately high administrative cost-to-fund-raising ratio (i.e., 50 percent or greater).

Those who participate in the AIDS Marathon in recent years have enjoyed running in exotic destinations like Florence, Dublin, and Honolulu. Much of the money raised goes to support the extensive training program, staff, and trips. The donors are the ones getting duped. When your friend asks you to make that online donation, you probably don't realize that less than half of the money is going to help people living with HIV/AIDS, and the rest is supporting your friend's marathon/vacation.

Simply put, there is a code for ethical fundraising. Organizations that stand the test of time like the United Way or the Red Cross adhere to those guidelines. I'm glad to see Whitman-Walker moving in that direction as well.

Of course the obvious challenge for the Clinic will be the annual AIDS Walk. In years where participation in the walk has been high, they have fallen well below the 50% mark. However, in years where participation has not been as strong, the cost-to-fundraising ratio for this event has been questionable as well.

The most shocking example was in 2001 when the AIDS Walk grossed $485,000 but expenses came to $481,000. That year less than a penny of every dollar donated actually went to help people living with HIV/AIDS, while the rest went to overhead.

In recent years the AIDS Walk has fared much better. Personally, I plan to participate in the AIDS Walk this year to show my support for the clinic and their strengthened commitment to ethical fundraising.

Farewell to the Washington Free Clinic

In November 1973, the Gay Men’s VD Clinic, part of the Washington Free Clinic, began operating in the basement of the Georgetown Lutheran Church. This was the birth of what was to become Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Today, the Washington Free Clinic prepares to close it's doors. The staff and programs of the Clinic will now become part of the Whitman Walker Clinic, the very organization it gave birth to over 30 years ago. Here are the plans:

1. Washington Free Clinic staff will join the Whitman-Walker Clinic staff in the next two weeks;

2. Whitman-Walker Clinic will integrate the Washington Free Clinic’s primary care expertise into its 14th Street Northwest operations so that Whitman-Walker Clinic can offer comprehensive primary care services to the District’s medically underserved; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community; and people living with HIV/AIDS;

3. Clients of the Washington Free Clinic can obtain their medical care at Whitman-Walker Clinic beginning Jan. 29.

The Washington Post reports:

"Changing times now are responsible for its passing. Financial struggles and what board Chair Gardiner Lapham calls 'today's administratively burdensome health-care environment' repeatedly threatened the clinic's viability in recent years. In mid-2005, it nearly shut down after a sudden, major loss of federal HIV-AIDS funding. The crisis ebbed when donors stepped up, but it initiated a board-led soul-searching that culminated last week."

Today’s announcement is another step toward expanding primary health care at Whitman-Walker Clinic. That objective was approved by Whitman-Walker’s board of directors in 2005 to ensure the Clinic’s long-term viability and meet the Clinic’s historic commitment of caring for the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Donald Blanchon, Whitman-Walker’s chief executive officer stated in a press release. “This important development allows us to realize our strategic objective to become the highest quality community health center in the metropolitan Washington area serving the medically underserved; the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community; and people living with HIV/AIDS.”

The jury is still out, however, on whether or not Whitman-Walker's new objective is too broad to maintain a cohesive organization. Since Donald Blanchon was hired as the first straight Executive Director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, there have been questions raised about the clinic's commitment to the LGBT community. The gay men's health and wellness program, for example, has failed to engage gay men in the district and has struggled over the years with a small staff and high staff turnover rate.

As Whitman-Walker clinic moves to broaden it's commitment to include primary health care for all, it must also clearly define it's commitment to LGBT health.

Going the Extra Mile: March 14th

The Whitman Walker Clinic 'Going the Extra Mile' reception benefits the Whitman Walker Clinic Legal Services Program, which offers pro bono legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS. The event takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the residence of the French ambassador, 2221 Kalorama Rd. NW. For more information contact Mike Wilkinson by e-mail or at 202 797 3543.